SIR Alex Ferguson has admitted he is not surprised Roy Keane is thinking of extending his Manchester United career.

Keane has revealed he has not yet given up the idea of earning himself another Red Devils contract when his current one expires in 18 months' time.

It was the first time the 33-year-old had ever expressed a desire to carry on playing, after initially suggesting he would bow out of the game in 2006, hopefully after a World Cup Finals swansong.

However, the ultra-competitive Irishman is now having second thoughts on the back of a long-awaited return to form that culminated in a superb performance in last weekend's 5-2 win against Crystal Palace.

Ferguson opted not to offer a view as to whether his long-term captain would be worthy of the one-year extension which would be the maximum a player of Keane's age could expect under United's current wage negotiation scheme.

But he did acknowledge the influence Keane has again become to his resurgent team and jokingly suggested if he was playing as well as the midfielder, he would ask for a new contract too.

"I am not surprised at Roy's comments given the way he is playing," enthused Ferguson.

"He is in fantastic form - his best of the season.

"He has come to the forefront of his game again and if I was him, I would want to stay and play too."

Certain starter

Keane is a certain starter for United on Boxing Day, when they entertain Bolton looking to maintain an excellent run which has seen them win five of their last six games.

The only slip came with a draw at Fulham a fortnight ago, a setback which cost Ferguson's side a chance to close the nine point gap on Premiership leaders Chelsea.

With trips to Aston Villa and Middlesbrough to follow over the festive period, Ferguson knows his team cannot afford to fail against Sam Allardyce's side, who have lost their last four games and tumbled into the bottom half of the table.

"There is a great consistency in our form just now," said Ferguson. "What we need now is a consistency in our results.

"It is proven that we make less mistakes after the new year than we do before it but we cannot afford any more Fulham-type shocks."

Success over the festive period will have to be achieved without leading scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is being nursed through an Achilles injury Ferguson is desperate to ensure will not eventually require a season-ending operation.

The United boss has already stated publicly he expects the free-scoring Dutchman to be sidelined for six weeks, although given the Scot's assessment of van Nistelrooy's injury compared to the knee problem currently sidelining Louis Saha, it appears that timescale could be pushed back a bit further.

"I expect Louis Saha to be back by the middle of January, certainly no later than the end of the month," he said.

"Ruud is longer term. It is a difficult one to assess but there is no doubt we are giving him the right rehabilitation and hopefully it won't be too long before he is back."

Are you surprised Keane has set his sights on extending his playing career? Have your say.